Before Austin Trout’s Hollywood encounter with Joey Hernandez, the 29-year-old said he would never lose to anyone known as ‘Twinkle Fingers’. And he was right, out-boxing and dropping Hernandez twice en route to a 6th round KO.
Trout now progresses to 30-2, 17 knockouts, while Hernandez falls to 24-4-1, 14 knockouts.
Most of the boxing fandom expected Trout to take care of business last night, but probably not as impressively. Trout, who hasn’t featured on a big card since failing against Saul Alvarez (2013) and Erislandy Lara (2013), looked pretty solid, it has to be said.
Hernandez isn’t a world-beater exactly, but he came to fight. Well, at least for the first few rounds with wild hayemakers until Trout’s jabs and body shots starting taking their toll. It was a mismatch in many ways, but Trout’s methodical approach deserves praise.
Trout’s humbling reboot in boxing seems to have brought about some greater head movement too. With a four-fight winning streak behind him, the Junior Middleweight should now be ready to tackle some greater opposition. See Trout vs Hernandez Highlights.
On the undercard, Jorge Lara (27-0-2, 19 KO) and Jesus Rojas (21-1-2, 15 KO) fought to a 6th round Technical Draw. The bout, which was scheduled to go 10, of course ended in disappointing fashion, especially for Lara who seemed to be bossing the action with combinations before falling victim to accidental head-butts.
After receiving two nasty gashes – over the left eye in round 3 and the right in 5 – Lara was unable to continue after the 6th round ended. All three ringside judges scored the bout 57-57.
What’s your take on Trout vs Hernandez and the California undercard? Is ‘No Doubt’ ready for a big 154 pound name?
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